Canisters and a Cookie Jar

In the last few weeks I have been able to get out to the studio only a few days a week.  When the temps are over 50 I work but colder than that I don't.  There is a space heater but I just can't get much enthusiasm to work in the cold.  There are no pressing commitments so I will not force the issue unless the cold stays here more than a month longer.

The last few weeks I started working on pieces for my kitchen.  The top photo is of items for my new tea/coffee caddy. The tall piece is for the caramel flavoring my son likes in his coffee.  The hummingbird piece is for the tea bags.  The small piece is for sweet and low.  Notice that I used my new stamps. I already had a sugar jar that's bisqued and I also made a caddy to hold it all.

The next photo is of my new cookie jar.  I made scenes of a bluebird with flowers and leaves on alternating sides.  The handle on the top is a twisted branch with leaves.

The bottom photo is of my canister set.  Of course this is my first time making lids for square containers so hopefully they fire well.  I also made a salt and pepper set and still need to make a utensil holder but I may decide on that latter.

I would like to use up my white clay in the next month and switch to brown clay.  I think that the color showing through would look good with all the texture in my new work.  There is a bunch of scrap clay that I need to re-wedge and I will probably make a bunch of small items to fill the kiln so that I can test some new glazes.

There are plenty of items for sale on my online shop but I need to make some more yarn bowls. Also I should work on mugs.  Every other potter makes tons of them and I just have never enjoyed it, but maybe if I forced myself to do it, I would get better at it.  I think I will make large mugs for my son's who have been drinking coffee like crazy lately. And there are never enough of the large mugs.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year Everyone

Usually I take December away from creating new pieces and concentrate on shipping  packages from my online sales.  As far as sales go, I made the same amount this December but with less items sold.  I suppose this is a good thing since there was a higher profit margin.  There were a few items that I definitely needed to have more on hand.  I should really learn to like making mugs because I noticed that most potters sell a ton of them.  Maybe this year??

Today I received the Christmas gift to myself.  These stamps came from a wood stamp maker in Canada, Charan Creations.  They seem very sturdy so I am pleased with the quality.  I can't wait to start using them.  Hopefully the weather will get better soon.  Since I have no shows until May and plenty of stock for my online shop there is no reason to hurry into a cold studio.

One project that I plan on working on is making pieces for my kitchen.  We plan on remodeling and I will be making canisters, utensil holder, tea caddy, plates, bowls and mugs in the new color.  This will only take a few weeks, then I will get started making new pieces for my inventory.

I have also applied for a few new shows this year and hope that I can get into a few and they are successful. My new plan is to drop shows that encourage crafty or cheap.  My new work doesn't sell well at those shows.  I also need to work on my portfolio and approach some new galleries.  I have recently pulled out of one gift shop and will drop another as soon as I find the time to go get my pieces.  I believe that my new work would do better in higher end galleries or gift shops where art is appreciated.